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Also in its early years, the Knights of Labor opposed the use of strikes. However, new members and local leaders gradually radicalized the organization. By the mid-1880's, labor stoppages had become an effective tool. The KOL won important strikes on the Union Pacific Railroad in 1884 and the Wabash Railroad in 1885. However, failure in the Missouri Pacific Railroad strike in 1886 and the Haymarket Square Riot of the same year quickly eroded the Knights' influence. In the public mind, the eight-hour work day and other demands by the KOL had become radical ideas. To many, the terms "unionism" and "anarchism" were synonymous. Labor leader Terence V. Powderly's organizing skills had brought the membership of the Knights of Labor to more than 700,000 in the early 1880's, but by 1900 that number had dropped to approximately 100,000. .
Why did the Knights" membership decline so suddenly and steeply? The Haymarket incident was certainly essential in that it transformed a skeptical public into vocal opponents of the group. Beyond that, the Knights suffered from fiscal mismanagement and internal divisions, especially the longstanding strife between the skilled and unskilled worker members. Finally, the rise of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) offered an alternative that rejected radicalism and organized its members along craft lines. .
Progressivism in American history was a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century. In the decades following the Civil War rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed, agriculture was mechanized, the factory system spread, and cities grew rapidly in land area and population.
The progressive movement arose as a response to the vast changes brought by industrialization. Progressivism began in the cities, where the problems were most delicate. Dedicated men and women of the middle class background moved into the slums and established settlement houses.